The use of carrying cases of varying kinds is becoming more prevalent and more people find it convenient and even necessary to take work with them as they move about or require large amounts of information at hand to perform their work. Accordingly, although the usual kinds of cases such as attaché cases, briefcases, carrying cases for laptop computers are most commonly used there has developed an increasing need for specialized cases for facilitating the carrying out of various tasks.
Portable laboratories for analyzing biological substances are also known and have been in use for a number of years. For example, a U.S. Patent of Bell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,229 discloses a briefcase for sampling air and collecting particles entrained in the air. The biobriefcase includes a receiving surface, a liquid input that directs liquid to the receiving surface, and produces a liquid surface, an air input that directs the air so that the air with particles entrained in the air impact the liquid surface.
A further approach to a laboratory in a briefcase was disclosed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). To conduct spot checks, the UNODC has developed “Field Test Kits” in a brief case that provides law enforcement officers with rapid and simple color tests for the preliminary field identification of drugs and precursors most commonly encountered in illicit traffic. These kits contain chemical agents for the identification of cannabis, opium, morphine, cocaine, and heroine and sufficient re-agents to carry out 500 tests.
Finally, Biopac System Inc. has announced a Biopac Science Lab for secondary education to provide hands on physiology lessons to explore the inner workings of the human body with a new inexpensive physiological monitor that was specially designed for secondary education. It allows students to display, record and analyze their own heart signals (ECG), brain waves (EEG), muscle activity (EMG) and eye movement (EOG).
Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there is a need and a potential commercial market for a portable laboratory for a biology course that can be used to perform routine experiments independent of a traditional school laboratory. There should be a need and a potential market for such portable laboratories since they contain the basics for an intermediate or secondary course in biology. Further, such portable laboratories can be carried to and used in the home, easily moved to a friends house in order to work on experiments with another student.